One to go! South Carolina tops Louisville, will play for WBB national championship
No. 1 South Carolina is going to the national championship.
One year after seeing their national title hopes disappear in the 2021 Final Four, the Gamecocks (34-2) are just one win away from the goal they’ve centered everything around during the 2021-22 season.
The tournament’s top overall seed defeated fellow 1-seed Louisville Cardinals (29-4) 72-59 at Target Center on Friday, advancing to Sunday’s national championship against UConn.
“Louisville did an extremely great job of just competing,” USC head coach Dawn Staley said. “We could never put them away because of their fight, their competitiveness and their ability to hang in there, defend, score and turn us over. They created a great environment for all of women’s basketball fans to be excited about.”
National Player of the Year winner Aliyah Boston led the way for the Gamecocks with 23 points, 18 rebounds and four assists. All five starters scored in double figures — Brea Beal (12 points), Destanni Henderson (11 points), Zia Cooke (10 points) and Victaria Saxton (10 points).
“With the awards, I’m really blessed, but my main focus is bringing home a national championship Sunday night,” Boston said. “I’m just really locked in on that.”
Gamecocks maintain halftime lead to victory
The Gamecocks led 34-28 at halftime, shooting 47% against Louisville’s 42% from the field in the first half. The third quarter was initially kind to South Carolina, which got up to a 15-point lead after a strong start out of halftime.
But the Cardinals wouldn’t go down without a fight. Louisville brought the game within six points with 46 seconds left in the third.
Louisville was unable to push pace after losing Emily Engstler, who fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. The Gamecocks outscored Louisville 38-31 in the second half.
“I think the game just opened up,” Boston said. “We were able to continue to move the ball, and it opened up for me to get more scoring opportunities.”
Engstler catalyzes Cardinals’ offensive effort but fouls out
Engstler became the Gamecocks’ toughest challenge early in the contest. She scored 10 points on 5 of 11 shooting and added seven rebounds in the first half.
The Cardinals scored 28 points in the first 20 minutes, improving a 31% field goal percentage from the first quarter to 53% in the second quarter.
With Louisville’s productive guard Hailey Van Lith shut down throughout much of the first half, Kianna Smith and Olivia Cochran stepped up on the offensive end, scoring eight points each in the first half. They both finished the game with 14 each.
Engstler tallied a third personal foul early in the third quarter and had four by the end of the third. She fouled out with 4:56 to go in the game, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Beal demands attention on both ends of the floor
The Gamecocks’ glue player did all she could to pull out a win for South Carolina.
Beal, who routinely draws the most difficult defensive assignment, guarded Van Lith, who has scored 20 or more in all of the Cardinals’ NCAA tournament games this season.
Beal, 6-foot-1, shut down Van Lith, 5-foot-7, throughout the first half. Van Lith scored just two points on 1 of 4 from the field and went the first 18 minutes of the matchup scoreless. Van Lith finished the game with nine points on 4 of 11 shooting.
Though Beal’s offense hadn’t been a consistent part of her game throughout the 2021-22 season, she found a way to get to the basket in the Final Four. She scored eight points on 4 of 5 shooting in the first half, including a 4-0 run of her own in the second quarter that brought South Carolina up from a first-half deficit for a six-point lead at halftime.
Beal finished the game with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
National championship: South Carolina vs UConn
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (34-2) vs. No. 2 UConn Huskies (30-5)
When: Sunday, 8 p.m.
Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Watch on TV and stream: ESPN
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 9:06 PM with the headline "One to go! South Carolina tops Louisville, will play for WBB national championship."
